Politics has degraded to a level that petty issues gain prominence over serious concerns. The politics in India had started gaining steam from the Freedom movement, followed by the zeal with which Jawaharlal Nehru and Vallabhbhai Patel sought to modernize young India through building steel plants for industrial heft and dams to boost agriculture. Those were inspiring times for a nation that was trying to find its feet from an era of colonial exploitation. Today, the scenario is different. Take for instance the snowballing protests in Mumbai over the collapse of a Shivaji Maharaj statue inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in coastal Sindhudurg district in Maharashtra eight months ago. The flurry with which the opposition parties are turning heaven and earth on this issue is proof they are motivated by petty politics. The assembly elections are round the corner there, and this is time for them to fish in troubled waters.
The fall of the 35-foot statue at Rajkot Fort in Malvan taluka abutting the Arabian Sea is believed to have been caused by strong winds in the rainy season on August 26. With the Opposition turning this into an emotive issue, whipping up the passions of the Marathi-speaking people, fuel was added to the fire with profuse apologies first from chief minister Eknath Shinde and then from visiting Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself. Shinde said he was ready to fall on the feet of Shivaji Maharaj and seek apology. Modi followed this with an apology to all followers of Shivaji, terming the 17-th Century warrior king a ‘revered god’. The opposition is pressing for resignation of the state government, saying, “now that they have admitted guilt and apologised, the government must resign.”
The fall of the statue, however, raises larger issues. Its installation was a major project involving the state and central governments as also the Indian Navy. Every such governmental project is failing to stand the test of time because of weak constructions. While many bridges built during the British Raj are still in good form, new bridges are collapsing in state after state. The high-profile Ram Temple in Ayodhya and the new Parliament House in Delhi are no exceptions. With one rain, massive leaks were reported. Corruption and favouritism could be at the core of these problems. The contract for Shivaji statue’s erection went into questionable hands. The statue itself was made by an RSS-linked person. Extraneous influences, not merit, are seen behind the award of every contract. Huge commissions are a norm. This is proof of how the political class that lead governments has degenerated over time. Leadership today is all about power and pelf, sans a commitment to serve the society or push the growth of a state or nation.
